...Endangered Species Act Extinctions have occurred throughout our planet's natural history. Some species develop as others die out, making space in the ecosystem for those best suited to any given habitat's natural conditions. Long before human beings arrived, fossil records show that populations of animals evolved, thrived, declined, and became extinct. However, the rate of extinctions in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries drastically increased to an estimated 100 to 1,000 times the normal expected rate of extinction. The majority of these accelerated extinctions can be directly traced to mankind's impact upon the natural environment in the form of hunting, fishing, agriculture, development, pollution, habitat encroachment, disease, and global climate change. Due to the increasing number of endangered species, as well as, species becoming extinct, the United States Congress decided to take action. Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966, providing a means for listing native animal species as endangered and giving them limited protection. The Departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense were to seek to protect listed species, and, insofar as consistent with their primary purposes, preserve the habitats of such species. The Act also authorized the Service to acquire land as habitat for endangered species. In 1969, Congress amended the Act to provide additional protection to species in danger of “worldwide extinction” by prohibiting their...
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...suddenly stumbled on Jeremy Clarkson’s article, “Stuff the Tigers – Long live extinction” as it celebrates extinction and makes a mockery of the trade in tigers. I am writing this letter to show my disagreement on some of his ideas and points of view; also I am the person who likes those living creatures. I can easily understand that is hard to find a new theme and write an interesting article especially for our generation, but this article reached and passed all of the limits. It is really easy to see that author didn’t treat article as seriously as it needed to be treated; his use of sarcasm belittles and demeans what the majority of people find an important environmental issue. However, I wanted to point out that every single bit of the article is rude. Even the title is creating a negative tension. “Stuff” – this word makes reader think to stop caring about this issue and just fill the tigers with stuffing once dead. “Long live extinction” – these words tease the reader with contradiction, and makes them think that everything is going well and extinction is impossible. I think that the use of this language in the title shows that the author is trying to manipulate the reader by making them agree with him through humour. Mr. Clarkson is not showing the whole picture of the problem of extinction. The reader thinks that everything is going well, and people have time to change it. However the problem of extinction is serious, and people should think about it now, because...
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...these animals, which are often on the endangered list. According to Richard Farinato (in The Humane Society of the United States, www.hsus.org), wild and exotic animals are favorable vectors for diseases and parasites, often the outbreak of diseases cause the death of a mass of animals. If this situation is continue without any resolution, these animals might become extinct. Because there are no concerns to the needs of the animals, the livelihood will decrease rapidly, and eventually they might not be able to live on Earth. Recently the Indonesian government came up with a plan – rent out the tigers so as to raise fund to save Sumatran Tigers. Many doubt that whether the government is really saving the tigers or are just taking benefit from them. It was reported in the website, MSNBC that a deposit of one billion rupiah which is about $107,000 USD will be charged to rent a pair of tiger...
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...BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSYTEM LOSS An ecosystem is defined as ‘a biological community interacting organisms and their physical environment’ Source: Oxford dictionary – http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/ecosystem While by definition, biodiversity includes all living organisms (wild or domesticated) and the habitats (natural or man-made) within which they occur. Furthermore, the components of biodiversity are not independent because the patterns in nature are a result of interactions between genetic diversity and the environment’. Source: WWF - http://www.worldwildlife.org/bsp/publications/africa/181/Chap_2.html I am reminded of the John Muir quote “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” To me that is how the world is, all interconnected by invisible threads- we never understand the depth of impact when one thread is broken until it is too late. Biodiversity and ecosystems around the world are being threatened at an alarming rate due to several environmental changes and by us humans. As well as the many moral and ethical reasons to preserve it for its own sake, biodiversity and ecosystems bring to us several services and resources such as food, water, pest control, medicines and moreover regulates the world’s climate. As a result of most of our food and necessities coming from these ecosystems, it is essential for the current and future generations that our biodiversity remains intact. Humans must ensure...
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...Project - Tigers Alive! WWF-Malaysia’s Tigers Alive! project was initiated following the completion of WWF-Malaysia’s human-tiger conflict work in FELDA Jerangau Barat, Terengganu in 2003. This project subsequently kicked off in Jeli, Kelantan, where human-tiger conflict was a major issue at that time. Since then, the project has expanded to the greater Belum-Temengor Forest Complex, a priority area for tigers as identified under the National Tiger Action Plan. With support from partners and stakeholders, this project aims to develop long-term measures to improve the protection and management of key tiger populations and their habitats. This project will contribute towards the National Tiger Action Plan, a government strategy outlining the steps to be taken to ensure the long-term survival of tigers in the wild. The Tigers Alive! project employs a holistic approach for tiger conservation, and is currently focusing on the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex as well as the larger Banjaran Titiwangsa (Main Range) landscape. The modules of this project include reducing poaching activities, conducting scientific monitoring on the population dynamics of tigers and their prey, raising awareness and reducing human-tiger conflicts through community engagement and educational programmes, ensuring forest connectivity, as well as monitoring land-use changes in tiger landscapes and communicating the cause and effects of human activities on nature to everyone. Each module forms an important...
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...National beauties Tiger A century ago there were 100,000 tigers roaming the forests, swamps, and tundra of Asia. TODAY, there are as few as 3,200 left in the wild. Only 7% of historic tiger habitat still contains tigers. At this rate, wild tigers will be extinct in just a few decades. - See more at: http://www.savetigersnow.org/probleConsumer demand for tiger parts poses the largest threat to tiger survival. Tigers are being hunted to extinction by poachers for their skins, bones, teeth and claws, which are highly valued for their use in traditional Asian medicine (TAM), various folk remedies and various products. The wildlife trade network, TRAFFIC, found that for the past two years, the smuggled parts from at least 200 tigers have been confiscated per year by law enforcement in Asia. In the past 10 years, over 1000 tigers have been killed to traffic their parts to meet consumer demand in Asia. Demand Tiger bones have been used in TAM for a wide variety of ailments for more than 1,000 years. In 1993 the Chinese government banned the trade and use of tiger parts, but cultural belief in the power of tiger parts remains. Parts from a single tiger can fetch as much as $50,000 on the black market, making the poaching of these magnificent creatures very alluring to criminal networks - See more at: http://www.savetigersnow.org/problem#sthash.ufNkGQR4.dpufm#sthash.ufNkGQR4.dpuf f tigers has been banned since 1987, some countries allow the breeding of captive tigers on a commercial...
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...Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 2-3 WILDLIFE TRADE 4 THE GLOBAL WILDLIFE TRADE: AN INTERNATIONAL DISGRACE 5 WILDLIFE TRADE AND TRAFFICKING IN INDIA 5-6 A SAMPLE CATALOGUE AND RATE CARD OF WILDLIFE PRODUCTS 7 WILDLIFE EXTINCTION LEADS TO RISK OF GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR HUMANS 7 MEASURES TAKEN TO COMBAT TRADE IN WILDLIFE ARTICLES 8 LEGISLATIVE ACTION 8 WILDLIFE (PROTECTION) ACT, 1972 9 CONSERVATION AND ITS MANAGEMENT 9 PROTECTED AREA 10 NO RIGHT TO LIVE IN WILDLIFE AREA WITHOUT PERMISSION/PERMIT 10 TRADE OR COMMERCE IN WILD ANIMALS, ANIMAL ARTICLES AND TROPHIES PROHIBITED 11-12 PENALTIES 13 WE NEED TO CHANGE 14 INTRODUCTION ……….. Believe me. Trees are as much holistically breathing gas us; The wind perpetually exhaling from even the most infinitesimal pore of their emolliently serrated skin; is an unconquerably undefeated testimonial to the same. Believe me. Trees are as immortally loving as us; the unbreakable relationships that they form with every conceivably philanthropic entity of the atmosphere and beyond; is a timelessly exemplary testimonial to the same. So The Next time you think of chopping a tree for “Paper” or spuriously turgid bonfires to passionately enlighten your every dreary night; remember that you’d be insanely annihilating one human of your own kind, Instead. I’d humbly suggest friends. Please switch over to Lightning fast and non-invasively state-of-the-art Modern Technology. Please switch over...
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...100,000 tigers roaming the forests, swamps, and tundra of Asia. TODAY, there are as few as 3,200 left in the wild. Only 7% of historic tiger habitat still contains tigers. At this rate, wild tigers will be extinct in just a few decades. Illegal Trade Consumer demand for tiger parts poses the largest threat to tiger survival. Tigers are being hunted to extinction by poachers for their skins, bones, teeth and claws, which are highly valued for their use in traditional Asian medicine (TAM), various folk remedies and various products. The wildlife trade network, TRAFFIC, found that for the past two years, the smuggled parts from at least 200 tigers have been confiscated per year by law enforcement in Asia. In the past 10 years, over 1000 tigers have been killed to traffic their parts to meet consumer demand in Asia. Demand Tiger bones have been used in TAM for a wide variety of ailments for more than 1,000 years. In 1993 the Chinese government banned the trade and use of tiger parts, but cultural belief in the power of tiger parts remains. Parts from a single tiger can fetch as much as $50,000 on the black market, making the poaching of these magnificent creatures very alluring to criminal networks. Claws, teeth and whiskers are believed to provide good luck and protective powers. And tiger skins and tiger bone wine are valued as status symbols. Black Market Demand Uses of tiger body parts in various cultures that is driving the poaching of wild tigers. Tiger Farms ...
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...INTRODUCTION About 150-200 years ago, anthropogenic era begun just when the industrial revolution began producing carbon dioxide and methane at rates sufficient to change their compositions in the atmosphere (Ruddiman, 2003). This increase in greenhouse gases resulted in slow natural loss of terrestrial biomass. Historical research has indicated that human activities play a role in the extinction of numerous large animal species (Roberts et al., 2001). In 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list was formed for global conservation status of biological species. The species are classified into 9 groups based on rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution and degree of population and distribution fragmentation (IUCN, 2017a). This is a valuable list which specifies the global conservation status of plants and animals. One of the 9 classification groups is endangered. Endangered species are defined as species that are facing threats which might lead to extinction in a short time (Botkin & Keller, 2011). As human alterations on earth are becoming substantial and forever growing, habitats of species become altered and destroyed. The disappearance of species leads to loss of ecosystem...
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...Population growth and economic development are major factors in endangering animals, but when it comes to threatening animals close to extinction that’s where illegal poaching comes in. Poaching occurs all over the world. It can be something as big as a elephant to fishing illegally. There are three types of poaching; subsistence, commercial and trophy. Subsistence poaching is when somebody poaches for survival and eats the animal killed. Commercial poaching is when somebody poaches for money. They don’t kill to eat, but they kill for selfishness. Lastly is trophy poaching which is focused on killing endangered animals for large amounts of money. Trophy and commercial poaching is the biggest growing problem out of all three types. Most poachers kill for profit for example, elephants are killed for their tusks or a white tiger is killed for it’s fur. On a On Earth article it was said that poachers killed over 30,000 elephants in 2013 (Nuwer). If this number continues to grow elephants will be extinct in a decade. Just in 2011, the IUNC declared the Western Black Rhinoceros extinct due to it being poaching for it’s horns. 2 The extinction of a animal, even an endangered animal, can be very dangerous to the environment. According to Orietta Estrada, animal rights advocate and environmental enthusiast, when the North...
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...now causing the greatest mass extinction of species since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. In the last two centuries alone the Earth has witnessed world-wide accelerated rates of animal extinction and endangerment, which has taken place alongside industrial progress and rapid human population growth (“Animal Extinction”). So just what is an endangered animal and why should we care? A broad definition is an endangered animal is a species that is threatened with extinction. The extinction of a species is a catastrophic event that impacts the whole planet and its inhabitants including humans, as all life on Earth is interconnected. Therefore, humans should attempt to conserve the natural habitats of the Earth and in turn the animals that live in them. However, that is not the reality, for humans are one of the main causes of animal extinction and endangerment. As Julia Marton-Lefevre, IUCN's Director General said, “hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions”(in Goodman). In the entire Earth’s history there has only been five great mass extinctions, we are now in the midst of the sixth great mass extinction, driven by human demand for natural resources and the wildlife trade, in addition to other detrimental human actions. Southeast Asia is one of the regions in which numerous species are going extinct, so Southeast Asian governments should be more concerned with the immediate threat of animal extinction in Southeast Asia. The exploitation...
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...Endangered Tigers Today wild tigers exist in Eastern Russia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bhutan, India and Nepal. In order to live in the wild, tigers need water to drink, animals to hunt, and vegetation in which to hide. As the mountains, jungles, forests, and long grasses that have long been home to tigers disappear, so too, do tigers. Agricultural expansion, timber cutting, new roads, human settlement, industrial expansion and hydroelectric dams push tigers into smaller and smaller areas of land. These small areas of forests are surrounded by rapidly growing and relatively poor human populations, including increasing numbers of illegal hunters. Tigers compete with an expanding human population and industry for land and food, many tigers are killed by poachers who sell the tiger’s body parts as ingredients for traditional Chinese medicines. If these trends continue, the wild tiger may evolve from being an endangered species and off the endangered species list to become an extinct species. Without wilderness, the wild tiger will not survive. If the world is not careful, one of the beautiful creatures on the planet will become extinct. Everyday more and more tigers are being slaughtered for their skin, bones, meat, and other organs to produce clothes, home décor, medicine, food and even alcohol. For example bones are soaked in alcohol to make wine, and ground up bone mixed with herbs is believed to relieve pain such as arthritis...
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...Katharine Jenkins-Moore Stephanie High Eng 111 24th of November, 2013 Saving the Great White Shark Great White sharks are being killed to the point of extinction. Overfishing, finning, and the fear of humanity are going to be the death of these majestic creatures if we do not do something about it soon. Great White sharks have been called “the barometer of our oceans”. If they are no longer around, our whole ecosystem will go into a terrible tail-spin that we will be helpless to stop. Solutions to these issues can be found by making some big changes, but mostly a lot of people making small ones. Great White sharks are in danger, and if little things are changed in people’s daily lives, we may be able to reverse, or at least halt, the threat. One major problem Great White sharks face is finning. Finning is defined as the catching of a shark, pulling it aboard a boat, cutting off all of the shark’s fins, then throwing it back into the ocean to either be eaten alive or drown. Author Rebecca Tatum states in her academic journal “The Ecology and Controversy of Shark-Fin Soup” that “Shark-finning is increasingly illegal on a global basis; since 2004, at least sixty nations have banned the practice” (Tatum 6). Many specials have been aired (on Animal Planet) about the shark fin trade. One could see fins drying on rooftops for miles. Tatum also states “The extraordinary value of the fins, up to $2,000 per pound, incentivizes this wasteful practice” (Tatum 2). The price paid...
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...Kayla Reuss Mark Dixon Environmental Ethics 8 May 2015 Should the Big Cats Be Saved? Today five species of cats including tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, and snow leopards, all known as the big cats struggle to survive. These cats have a reputation for being ferocious predators but are now all facing extinction. Habitat loss, poaching, and the dwindling populations of their prey seem to be the cause of near extinction for these majestic predators. The loss of the big cats has the potential to be detrimental to our planet and our lives. These big cats sit at the top of the food chain controlling populations for a multitude of species that are also vital to vital ecosystems and without them overpopulation and habitat devastation would occur. Though their populations are slim efforts are being made to protect the big cats and their habitats in order to keep them around. Ethically we are inclined to protect these big cats and their habitats in order safeguard their wellbeing and to ensure future generations of the big cats on the...
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...world is impacted by human activities. Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways including the legal, social, and moral sense. This has been a reason for debate throughout recorded history. Religions have often declared certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment. Literature has also made use of the traditional human separation from wildlife. Foods, Pets, Traditional Medicine: Anthropologists believe that the Stone Age peoples and hunter-gatherers relied on wildlife, both plants and animals, for their food. In fact, some species may have been hunted to extinction by early human hunters. Today, hunting, fishing, or gathering wildlife is still a significant food source in some parts of the world. In other areas, hunting and non-commercial fishing are mainly seen as...
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